CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Plans for rebuilding the old Roxy Regional Theatre as a new Performing Arts Center have been scaled down, with a smaller building and a lower cost.
The revised plans still call for a 500-seat performance hall, fully-equipped rehearsal studio, several reception spaces and an art gallery. Plans also still include space for classes, events, and areas in the basement for the scene shop and costume shop. However, the previously planned 200-seat black box theatre has been removed from the plans, according to Cameron O’Hanlon, executive director of the Clarksville Arts, Culture, and Tourism Authority Executive.
Renderings shared Monday with Clarksville Now show the building now the same height as the Roxy facade. Previous plans showed it rising one story above the facade, with rooftop event spaces and a much larger building on the right side.
The total construction cost has been reduced from $75 million to a projected $65 million, according to a news release from City of Clarksville spokesman Jimmy Settle.
The venue will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology that will maximize the uses of the building. The performance hall will feature a new electronic variable acoustic system, which has the capability to optimize the acoustics for any kind of performance. The lighting and rigging features in the venue will have enough capacity to handle most performances, from musical theatre to dance, according to the release.
Keeping historic Roxy marquee sign
The new design maintains the current plans to replicate the glazed yellow brick facade of the theatre, and to restore and reinstall the historic Roxy marquee sign and canopy detail.
“The facade of the theatre is the facade of Franklin Street. It’s iconic and an important point of identity for Clarksville. I’m incredibly grateful to the team at Lyle Cook Martin Architects for their efforts to refurbish the existing ‘Roxy’ sign so future generations can recognize that important Clarksville icon,” O’Hanlon said in the release.
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Brad A. Martin III, lead architect for the Performing Arts Center, is a Clarksville native who grew up attending movies at the Roxy Theatre, before it became a playhouse.
“The Clarksville Performing Arts Center is destined to be a once-in-a-generation reimagining of the corner of First and Franklin streets,” Martin said in the release. “This facility will be a world-class game-changer for our downtown, offering cultural opportunities Clarksville has been yearning for.
“This new venue will serve as an exciting hub of activity and energy as an indoor performance venue, but will also become a center of downtown public interaction with its indoor-outdoor, street-level Pocket Park, Retail Area, and second-level Grand Balcony,” Martin said.
ACT Authority and use of hotel/motel tax
The PAC is being built by the Clarksville Arts, Culture, and Tourism (ACT) Authority, established to operate as an independent nonprofit organization promoting art and culture. When this new organization was created in 2024, the City Council also established a Hotel/Motel Occupancy Tax meant to partially fund the ACT Authority, and passed a resolution establishing the agreement to backstop the bond measure that would be needed to fund the new Performing Arts Center, the release said.
“This private/public partnership gives us the best opportunity to succeed,” said O’Hanlon. “By leveraging the confidence that comes with an association with the City Government with the entrepreneurial opportunities that come with being a non-profit organization, we’ll be able to take advantage of the best of both worlds.”
The 2.75 percent Occupancy Tax for hotels and motels will be used to both fund the ACT Authority’s two resident companies, the Clarksville Arts & Heritage Council and the Roxy Regional Theatre, and a portion of the annual payments towards the construction debt. The remainder of the debt service and operating costs of the Performing Arts Center will be paid by earned and contributed revenue generated through the venue’s operations.
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“While the Hotel/Motel Tax provides an important foundation for the ACT Authority’s revenue, we’re not going to be complacent and let that be all of our revenue,” said O’Hanlon. “We have a business model that is going to set us up not only for short-term success, but long-term sustainability.”
Capital Campaign to help fund PAC construction
Contributing to the long-term sustainability of the Performing Arts Center is the Capital Campaign that the ACT Authority is embarking on ahead of the venue’s opening.
The money raised through the Capital Campaign will be used in three ways: to directly relieve construction costs, establish a long-term traditional endowment fund, and establish a short-term spend-down quasi-endowment fund, the release said.
“Managing the funds from the campaign this way helps guarantee we’ll both have the cash to cover the construction and debt payments over the first few years of the organization as we build our annual revenue streams, and that we’re making strategic investments to continue covering those costs in perpetuity,” O’Hanlon said. “If we’re successful in this campaign, we will be set up to handle the construction costs without the City needing to step in.”
Economic impact of PAC on Clarksville
An economic impact study completed by Randall Gross, Development Economics, found that a new Performing Arts Center in downtown Clarksville would generate an estimated $150,000 in direct tax revenue for the City of Clarksville and $380,000 in direct tax revenue for Montgomery County.
Additionally, once open, the Performing Arts Center would generate over $5 million per year in spending and increased sales for Clarksville businesses, and create over 100 jobs with earnings close to $1.5 million per year.
What’s next for PAC
The ACT Authority is preparing to bring the issuance of the bonds and the final construction plans before the City Council for approval.
“My goal is to instill confidence in the City Council that we have a strong plan to operate this venue successfully, and that we won’t be coming to the Council needing additional funding,” O’Hanlon said. “I recognize and appreciate the serious role they play in being good stewards of the taxpayers’ funds and wouldn’t ask for their partnership in backstopping this bond measure if I didn’t think it would have a net positive impact on all Clarksville citizens’ lives.”
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